"I generally see the broadcasts and I’ve never seen any justice asleep during oral argument."

- Bill Trevarthen, executive director of MGTV, which airs and archives all oral argument sessions of the State Supreme Court.

MORNING UPDATE:

GRANHOLM IN FLORIDA WITH OBAMA…can you believe it? Barack Obama invited our Governor Granholm to talk about job creation…the state who has been in a single-state recession for the past 5 years, the state that has the highest unemployment in the country, the state that has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country and the state that has been losing population over the last few years under Jennifer Granholm — is giving advice to Obama.

If you like what Jennifer Granholm has done for Michigan, you’ll love what Barack Obama is going to do to America! Be careful what you ask for?

MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS LIE…AGAIN…the Michigan Democrats put out an ad against Chief Justice Cliff Taylor and said he fell asleep during closing arguments of a case. The lawyer representing the plaintiff’s signed an affidavit saying he watched all the justices for their reaction to his arguments and NO one fell asleep. Blatant, outrageous lies by the state Democrat Party that has shown time and time again that they are willing to say anything to win an election…and folks let them get away with it…where is the outcry in the media and amongst all these community groups?

DEMOCRATS ATTACK JUSTICE TAYLOR…the Democrat Party and Trial Lawyers are throwing everything they have to try and tear down Cliff Taylor. Special interest Dem supporters are so desperate to beat him they’re going to wage the most negative, nasty, and partisan race against a Supreme Court Justice that Michigan has ever witnessed. ALWAYS check the facts and challenge their claims. Check Taylor’s website for up to the minute information and help stop the smear.

BE PREPARED…The liberal extremists are trying to turn Michigan courts into ones that rule like California courts. The greedy trial lawyers want to turn Michigan into a multi-million dollar lawsuit Mecca that will drive even more jobs out of Michigan. Cliff is a tough on crime judge who is completely fair and upholds the laws written by the legislature and signed by the governor. The Democrats want liberal activist judges that with cost all of us.

TAYLOR ADS…Cliff Taylors campaign rolled out a new TV commercial statewide and the Chamber of Commerce has an ad encouraging voters to support Taylor’s tough stand with criminals. See bothads here…and please send them to your friends!

JANE ABRAHAM ON "TEAM SARAH"…Jane sent out an email about an effort Jane helped start called "Team Sarah". See her email below.

BLAME EVERYONE…Jack’s opposition to the bailout and Carl Levin’s vote for it continues to headline voters’ concerns. Site visits to www.jackformichigan.org have doubled in the last 2 weeks. What’s of greatest interest? Jack’s "criticism of Levin is that he voted to bailout people and companies who shirked their responsibility. Companies that took unnecessary risks, a Congress that pressured banks to make risky loans, and homeowners who made unwise borrowing decisions all need to be held accountable. Levin did not hold them accountable." Read it here.

POWERFUL PRO LIFE AD YOU MAY WANT TO SHARE….here is a very powerful pro life ad that has Barack Obama and John McCain in their own words make it very clear what is at stake on this issue in this election.

DON’T BE FOOLED…IT’S CLOSER THAN THE PRESS IS PITCHING…GRASSROOTS VOLUNTEERS NEEDED…as we reorganize Victory Centers and Call Centers around the state, volunteers continue to make calls, knock on doors, and make contributions to fight for Republican candidates up and down the ticket. Please check this link for a Victory Center near you. We need you now, more than ever.

MICHIGAN YOUTH MAKING A DIFFERENCE!…COLLEGE REPUBLICANS STATEWIDE JOIN "TEAM BRAIN DRAIN"…our Michigan Youth Counts! effort, designed to stop Michigan’s "brain drain" was in Macomb County this weekend helping several key state and local candidates. "Team Brain Drain" made over 2000 calls, knocked over 1,600 doors, and worked 110+ man hours this weekend for our Republican candidates. Next week, "Team Brain Drain" will be in Battle Creek and St. Joe. For more information please contact Program Director Anthony Markwort at: amarkwort@migop.org.

JANE ABRAHAM’S E-MAIL ON "TEAM SARAH"… As many of you know I co-founded a national effort called "Team Sarah", a coalition of diverse women dedicated to advancing and defending Sarah Palin’s Vice Presidential candidacy. Today we announced the first ever Million Woman Townhall this Saturday, October 25 at 11:00AM EST. The event is the first ever telephone townhall meeting to feature one million women voters in battleground states.

Team Sarah’s Million Woman Townhall is an historic effort to reach one million female voters who can turn the tide of the Presidential election. This election is far from over. The first ever Million Woman Townhall will build on Governor Palin’s historic candidacy to tap into the power of the female vote. The Million Woman Townhall will engage registered women voters in battleground states not only to vote for the McCain-Palin ticket, but to bring three friends with them to the polls. These women can ensure victory for John McCain and Sarah Palin on Election Day, and Team Sarah is excited to energize and activate them.

Former Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN)’s iconic voice will launch the Million Woman Townhall by inviting women voters to participate over the telephone this Saturday. Once on the line, voters will be able to pose questions to a panel of women leaders including Jeri Thompson, actress Janine Turner, pollster Kellyanne Conway, policy expert Barbara Comstock, and Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. I will be the moderator.

The panelists will answer questions about the McCain-Palin ticket and encourage women to support John McCain and Governor Palin by bringing three friends with them to vote on Election Day.

Team Sarah recently launched http://www.teamsarah.org/ , a social networking site where women can learn more about Governor Palin, register to vote, create profiles and interact with other Palin supporters. With little more than word-of-mouth, the site has gained thousands of members in a few short days.

Anyone can sign up to be on the call by joining http://www.teamsarah.org/ and giving us your phone number. We will call you along with the million women voters.

Knollenberg touts experience over Peters in tight Oakland Co. battle for U.S. House seat.

Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

Rep. Joe Knollenberg points to his 16 years in Congress as justification for another two-year term. His opponent, Gary Peters, uses that seniority as a weapon against the Republican incumbent.

The experience vs. change theme that has dominated the presidential race also runs through Knollenberg’s run for a ninth term in the House representing his Oakland County district. The Republican touts the benefits of seniority and Peters, a Democrat, calls for a new path out of Michigan’s economic malaise.

But in a district that has shifted from safely Republican to a true battleground, and where polls and independent analysts show a close race, each candidate has reached to the middle.

LANSING – For decades, Michigan has been a highly sought prize in presidential elections.

But as this year’s presidential contest enters its final weeks, the airwaves are nearly quiet, the candidates far away. Used to being inundated with the candidates, their ads and their automated phone calls, Michigan voters no longer are feeling the love.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain last visited the state Sept. 23 during a stop in Freeland. Nine days later, he pulled his staff and ads out of Michigan, essentially conceding the state and its 17 electoral votes to Democratic rival Barack Obama.

Some say a Warren restaurant’s tempting offer is nothing but a dirty campaign trick. The local pizzeria is offering free pizza in exchange for some campaign signs. FOX 2’s Brad Edwards explains how that offer may have prompted some hungry bargain hunters to break the law.

In an age of craven politics, John McCain is not afraid to swim against the tide. When Americans soured on the Iraq War and had begun telling pollsters they wanted out, McCain pushed for a surge of U.S. troops in Iraq. Today, casualties are down dramatically and Iraqi troops are defending Iraqis. Now the outcome of this war need not be that more than 4,100 American troops fell for a failed effort, which only confirmed Osama bin Laden’s belief that America, when faced with losses, would cut and run.

In a political primary that had most Republicans playing to the GOP base, McCain pushed for an immigration reform bill that infuriated those primary voters. The experts said it would kill his nomination. He pushed for a second vote. Only when that second try failed did McCain then acknowledge that the federal government has to do more to curb illegal immigration before extending the path to citizenship to those illegally in America today.

An internal report by a lawyer for the community organizing group Acorn raises questions about whether the web of relationships among its 174 affiliates may have led to violations of federal laws.

The group, formally known as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, has been in the news over accusations that it is involved in voter registration fraud, charges it says are overblown and politically motivated.

The Web site of the state agency that handles voter registration and other election information was shut down briefly after it was hacked, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said. It was restored to partial service after it was determined that no information could be compromised. Republicans and Democrats in the state have been battling over registration rules and early voting procedures. Ms. Brunner, a Democrat, said her office had also been assaulted in recent weeks by a barrage of phone calls and e-mail messages containing "menacing messages and even threats of harm or death." Last week, a suspicious package covered with threatening messages and containing an unidentified powder was mailed to the office, Ms. Brunner said.

CHICAGO – The only "agent of change" Princess ever supported was the person who freshened the water in her fishbowl.

So election officials in Chicago’s northern suburbs want to know why voter registration material was sent to the dead goldfish.

"I am just stunned at the level of people compromising the integrity of the voting process," said Lake County Clerk Willard Helander, a Republican, who said she has spotted problems with nearly 1,000 voter registrations this year.

Now that retired Army general Colin Powell has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for President, it is hard to tell where he stands on social issues that will affect the military of the future. Among other things, we need to know whether Colin Powell endorses the extreme consequences of repealing the 1993 law stating that homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the military, which is constantly mislabeled "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell."

If Congress passes a bill to repeal the statute (Section 654, Title 10), the new policy would be forced cohabitation with professed homosexuals in all military communities, including Army/Marine infantry battalions, Special Operations Forces/Navy SEALS, and submarines, 24/7. Following the military’s proud civil rights tradition, the new policy would involve sensitivity training to change attitudes toward sexuality, and "zero tolerance" of anyone who disagrees. Repeal of the 1993 law also would encourage more incidents of sexual tension, misconduct, or abuse, to include male/male and female/female issues in addition to the male/female incidents that already occur.